Internet users today have a vast breadth of network resources at their disposal, including web pages, streaming media, messaging services, and social networks, just to name a few. While this may be a boon for users, it is also a challenge for purveyors of content seeking a captive audience. With so many network resources to choose from, users are liable to have a short attention span, making it critical for content producers to present their content in the most appealing way possible.
According to the conventional approach, the content and style of a network resource have been designed with an anticipated audience in mind. The designer of the network resource selects both the content and the presentation style he or she believes to be most appropriate for the variety of users expected to navigate to the network resource. For example, consider the design of an official web page for the US Open Tennis Championships to which a variety of presentation styles may be applied. Conventionally, a web designer is likely to adopt a generic presentation style expected to appeal to a broad cross-section of tennis fans. Such a generic presentation style may not appeal to excitable young tennis players as much as one featuring bright colors, fast-moving graphics, and a rock music soundtrack, nor may it appeal to long-time followers of the tennis circuit as much as a presentation style featuring traditional graphics, photos of tennis legends of the past thirty years, and a Gershwin soundtrack, but neither is a generic presentation style likely to displease either cohort. In the absence of knowledge about the preferences of the visitor, it is reasonable to adopt the generic style so as not to displease anyone.
More recently, some content providers have proposed methods for customizing content for particular users. In particular, advertisers paying to have their advertisements displayed either alongside or embedded in the content have been seeking ways to increase the likelihood that such advertisements will result in sales of the products or services advertised. One approach for increasing the probability of such so-called “conversions” is disclosed in US Patent Publication No. 2011/0246906 “Using Visitor Context And Web Page Features To Select Web Pages For Display”, invented by Catlin et al. (hereinafter “Catlin”). A method disclosed therein includes selecting, based on a current-visitor context, a particular one of multiple possible instances of a web page for presentation to the current visitor, the particular one being that substantially most likely to generate a highest expected outcome from interaction with the web page by the current visitor as indicated by the current-visitor context. The method in Catlin thus enables monitoring of session data in respect of visitors to a web page and selection of a version of the web page anticipated to be substantially most likely to generate a highest expected outcome with respect to the user (e.g. inciting a sale).
Thus, continuing the example of the US Open Tennis Championships web page, implementations of Catlin may use information collected about the current visitor such as his or her age in order to select a version of the web page targeted either to a younger or older audience. The method in Catlin thus improves upon conventional approaches wherein a single pre-designed version of a web page is presented to all users irrespective of their demographic profile or past interactions with that web page.
However, the approach in Catlin suffers from its reliance on session data involving interactions with the web page to be optimized. Until a user has interacted sufficiently with a web page, it may be difficult to determine which version to select for a user until he or she has interacted with the web page sufficiently to assess his or her preferences, or to liken that user to another user who has interacted sufficiently with the web page to make the assessment by analogy.
Furthermore, Caitlin is limited in that they do not enable customization of the content or style of a network resource for a particular user upon that user's first visit, owing to their reliance on information regarding interactions with that network resource.